Memories
by MaCaBRe aPPaRiTioN
Summary: Arye is the spirit of Halloween. She joins Pitch Black's side. Because of her memory. But there's something suspicious about it. Nothing's what it seems. Jack Frost x OC. My first fanfic, go easy on me kay?
1. Chapter 1

I sit cross-legged in the corner of my old, rickety cottage in the middle of a desolate forest. I knew he was going to find me soon. No matter where I went. I used to be so afraid, but I learnt that fear actually draws him nearer. I've stopped fearing him as much now. At least it makes it harder to track me. But considering I'm in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, it's quite likely I will be found. This time, though, I'm tired of running.

Pitch Black has been hunting me down since he knew of my existence. He's grown much stronger since he was last defeated by the Guardians. I've been running for months. Always fleeing, never unleashing my powers. I know Pitch is coming now. The spirits in the forest tell me. Yes, I can hear spirits, but only of the dead.

At that moment, the thumping hoof beats of a whole group of dark horses invaded my hearing, and I knew _he _was here. This time, I'm not running. I will not flee. I will fight if need be, this has gone on for too long. 'Pitch, you had better be ready. I'm not running this time.'

In that split second, my make-shift home started to crumble around me, and I quickly punched a hole through one wall and leaped out. Instinctively, I unfolded my wide, bat wings and prepared to take flight. "Leaving so soon?" Pitch chuckled, "You don't have to run this time, you know? I only wanted to give you this, _Arye._"

Pitch's jet black hair stuck upwards, his grey skin seemed as dull as ever. But his silver-gold eyes seemed alive. Alive with something I didn't know how to name. Behind him, the Nightmares gave a small whinny, shooh their black manes and turned to stare at me with their glowing, golden eyes.

Pitch extended his right hand, offering a golden box to me. The box glimmered in the light shining through the trees. On its side was a picture of a girl who resembles me, or at least I think it did. Except she had light brown hair and dark green eyes, while I currently had ebony hair and amber eyes. I knew immediately what his plan was. A bargain. "I believe you've figured it out. So, how 'bout it, eh? Your cooperation, for your memories," Pitch smirked, tossing the tooth box into the air coolly before catching it swiftly.

"Consider it," he said, "I know you want these memories. How about this: you take a look at your memories, and then decide if you will join me. You may find out that the Guardians aren't the wonderful, caring people they appear to be. "

So, Pitch has decided to change his methods of getting me to join him. He must've figured out what I wanted. You see, that box contains the teeth I dropped when I was still human. They were collected by the tooth fairies and still have my memories attached to them. He must've found out my desire to know who I was, before I became…well, who I am now.

Still, I was suspicious of his motives. I mean, he usually tried to use force, but now, he's not attacking… I wonder if those memories in the box are really convincing enough, such that Pitch does not need the use of violence to get me to join him. But I guess…since they _were _my memories, I should give it a shot right? I inched away from Pitch, and he seemed to understand my movement. "Alright. Have it your way. I won't go any nearer," he sighed, and tossed the golden box of memories to me.

I deftly caught the box. Checking my surroundings, I made sure that nothing was out of place, and that no dark creature was hiding behind some forest tree. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I made a few last checks, before returning to the golden box. I touched the patterned lid as it slowly dissolved like _sand._ The teeth resting in the box seemed to glow and my eyes were fixed upon them.

My surroundings faded.

"_Mama? MAMA WHERE ARE YOU?!" I broke down and cried. _

_I was only five at that time, maybe. I was in a dark alley, alone and abandoned. Where were my parents? Why did they leave me? I have never felt so scared before._

_About a month later, my survival instincts slowly improved. I dressed in tattered clothing and begged by the street, I learned how to pickpocket effectively, I could survive. I kept tricking and lying to people. Adults, children, elderly, I didn't care. I was always in disguise, always pretending._

_Still, I was a kid. Who could blame me for believing –even if just a little- in the Guardians who I had wished would take me into their home and feed me? Yet, when I finally met them one ordinary day, Santa merely said, "Arye, you're on my Naughty List," and walked off, the others following quietly behind. None of them spared a second glance._

_I just stared at their retreating shadows, tears slowly dripping to the ground. All that I had ever truly believed in, destroyed by that one sentence. 'Am I…really that bad a person? All I wanted was to survive. Why is it my fault? I'm not a bad person… I'M NOT A BAD PERSON!' I fell to my knees. My head hurt. I felt numb. Mind clouded by hatred for them. Mind clouded with the shards of a broken dream._

_And so I lived my life of trickery and deceit for ten years, give or take. _

_One usual day of doing my usual routine at a random street, I saw this guy. Tousled hazelnut brown hair, warm and kind smile, jade green eyes. I blushed as I saw him. He looked so…happy, as if he simply radiated warmth. Something that I've craved for quite a while now. _

_Unknowingly, I started following him, making sure to leave enough distance such that if he suddenly turned around, I'd have enough time to react and look…like I was not following him. I kept trailing him for many consecutive days. When I do, I feel weird. When I'm not behind him, I feel even lonelier than usual. I wonder if this was called love. Was I in love with Rayne? (I found his name out when he ran into some friends while I was within hearing range.) I know we've never spoken, but sometimes, you just…know. Cliché, I know, but it's true. I still don't know how to explain this, though. He just… His face just…pops up in my mind every now and then, regardless of what I was doing._

_About a week after I started following him, in the evening, he decided to detour from his usual route and strolled into a dark alley. 'How odd…' Aided by the darkness I'd grown accustomed to, I managed to press myself against the walls and hide in the shadows. Halfway through the alley, Rayne's body suddenly froze. _

"_Click."_

_'No...' From my hiding spot by the wall, I dashed forward and tackled the attacker to the ground. His gun was flung backwards, his eyes wide in shock. While he was still stunned, I quickly turned to Rayne, "RUN!"_

_I was immediately flung backwards and into the brick wall. Slumping to the ground, I groaned at the pain in my back. From the corner of my eye, I could see Rayne's retreating figure, and I smiled. I flicked my head back to my attacker, only to find a gun pointed directly at my forehead. "Goodbye, love," he sneered. _

"_BANG!"_

It took me a while to get my head back together. Images of Rayne and that look in the Guardians' faces kept appearing over and over again. So that was my past. So that was how I died. Then I realize: the Guardians really did abandon me that day. Even though I was five, they shattered the hope I'd been clinging to so desperately. They didn't help me, even though I needed it. I despise people like that.

I remember waking up, still slouched against the alley wall. Although I knew I had already died. So what was I still doing there? That was when the moon's light shone on my face. A voice echoed in my head. The Man in the Moon's voice. "You will be known as Arye Hallows. You are the spirit of Halloween."

Then I realized I had wide bat wings on my back, which I could easily control for some reason. It seemed natural, like breathing and eating. At that moment, my vision seemed to adapt to the darkness of the night. I could see things as clearly as during the day. Spirit, huh? But doesn't that mean I'm like the Guardians? The Guardians were all known as spirits before becoming well, Guardians. The thought of being like _them _disgusted me.

"So… What is your answer?" Pitch asked, snapping me out of my daze. "If you side and fight with me, you can get back at those Guardians. You can have your revenge. Why not put the powers you were gifted into good use? The Guardians shattered your childhood belief. They will pay for that. I can assure you that, if you join me."

I hesitated. I hated the Guardians, true, but do I really want to destroy them? Well they did break their vow to protect all kids, no? Not one of them even looked back at me crying on the on the floor that night. But still, can I really blame them for choosing to abandon someone like me, even if it's their duty? I stared straight at Pitch.

"I'm in."


	2. Chapter 2

A few months have passed since I'd "joined" Pitch. Currently, I was in his hideout, if you'd even call it that. His "hideout" was just a dark, underground cave full of cages and recently, tooth boxes, and the only way in or out was the _oh so evil-looking_ rabbit hole leading to the surface. Real evil, huh? Also, guess what? I'm stuck in a cage. Thanks to Pitch. I mean, I know I'd be able to escape, but this was Pitch's _lair._ With all the Nightmares about, I'd be caught before I even make it past a fifty meter radius from the cage. I don't recall _this _being part of the deal- "Thump."

The sound reverberated throughout the cave, interrupting my annoyance-filled thoughts.

"**Thump." **

**I glanced about the cave. The whole place was completely stuffed with cages. Cages and stairs. Birdcages hung from the ceiling, large cells rested on the ground and everything seemed to be either black or grey. I looked behind, at the rabbit-hole entrance, probably just to confirm I really did enter from there. At the surface of the entrance was a broken, wooden bed that seemed pretty old.**

**I gripped my frosted staff tighter, 'I have a bad feeling about this place.'**

**The wind picked up around me as I lifted off the ground, my tousled silver hair shifting slightly. I jumped and latched onto one of the birdcages. My eyes widened. The cages were packed with little tooth fairies. I assured them, "I'm going to get you guys out, kay? Just give me a sec…" I jumped back down. Pitch. When I see him, I am so gonna -**

"**Please… L-let me out?" a soft voice whispered somewhere behind me.**

**I swivelled around, staff poised. Slowly, I made my way towards the voice, cautious of my surroundings, should it be a trap. The voice came from a large, metal cage. As I advanced, a figure shifted into my view. The prisoner was a frail-looking girl around my age (in appearance- which is about 14 or 15). She had her bruised hands snaked around the bars of the cell, looking at me with desperate, fearful eyes. One of her hands slowly extended to point at something hanging on the wall. Jail keys.**

**My previously determined face softened. I nodded, taking off to retrieve the cell key. The padlock fell to the floor, a "clunk" resounding throughout the lair. The girl gingerly crawled forward and pushed the cell door open. "Th-thanks…"**

**I grinned at her, "Don't mention it! But we'll leave intros till later, yeah? We should focus on getting outta here."**

**I saw her return a slight smile, before shakily standing up. I extended my hand, which she took to steady herself and stand up to her full height. I was about half a head taller than her. Her auburn hair reached halfway down her back and was slightly dishevelled. She was wearing a tattered rag-like dress that ended above her knees. I noted she had beautiful eyes that blazed like wildfire. Fire, huh? I would **_**not **_**want to get on her bad side. I could tell there was something on her back, but it was hidden by the darkness. "Okay, let's go. I'm fine now," she said, suddenly sounding a lot more confident, and drawing me out of my thoughts.**

**I narrowed my brows, concerned, "You sound confident now." **

**She smiled sheepishly. Seeing as she was relatively fine, I took off, along with her trailing behind. Then I realised: I was going to fight Pitch. With this injured girl. How could I have forgotten that she was weakened? I turned to her, rubbing my neck awkwardly, "Say… I kinda forgot to tell you… I'm going after Pitch. And uh, you'd get hurt. Maybe I should help you escape fist." **

**She shook her head, "I have some unfinished business with that bastard. I'll be fine." **

**Seeing as there'd be no way to convince the stubborn girl otherwise, we continued. We sped through winding staircases, and quite frankly, I had no clue where I was going. I took the left path as we were met with a fork in the tunnels. We ended up at a dead end. Before I could utter a single curse, a shadow flew past us. **

**Pitch materialised from the shadows, "Ah Jack, I see you've met Arye."**

**Arye? So that must be her name. I felt her shiver and shrink behind me, losing her earlier confidence. I wonder what Pitch must've done, to make this fearful. "But anyway, I thought I'd give you what you want. It's all in here," Pitch continued, holding a tooth box out of me.**

**I immediately reached my hand out, before hesitating and retracting it. It may be a trap. Pitch faded into a shadow, his evil laughter echoing throughout the cave, "You want them, don't you, Jack? Your memories."**

**He was right: I did want those memories. I wanted to know why I was chosen to be this way. Unnoticed. Invisible. Alone. I chased after the shadow. The shadow of Pitch holding the box out to me. Taunting me. Daring me to get it. I vaguely noticed Arye following me, at an extremely inhuman speed, but I was too preoccupied to give it any further thought. The chase continued, before I finally ended up at dull bronze globe, much like North's, but smaller. **

"**Unseen. They won't accept you. You'll be alone, forever. Afterall, you aren't one of them." I heard Pitch's voice taunt me as he stepped from the shadows. **

"**YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM!" I yelled back at him, panting.**

"**Why of course I do," he remained calm, "You're Jack Frost. You make a mess wherever you go. And in fact, you're doing it right now."**

**The tooth box was suddenly tossed at me, and I caught it. Pitch started to retreat back into the darkness. I stared in horror at the box. Something was wrong. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"**

**A chuckle. "More importantly, Jack, what did **_**you **_**do?"**

**Pitch was swallowed entirely by the darkness. I sprinted after him, into the dark tunnel, my staff glowing an ice blue. Somehow, from that pitch black tunnels –pausing momentarily to groan at my inappropriately timed pun, I ended up in a brighter tunnel with moss creeping up its walls.**

**The Warren.**

**I turned a full circle. 'No…' Billions of easter eggs lay crushed and unmoving on the mossy ground. None of them reached the surface in time for Easter. "Wh…what just happened?" I heard Arye behind me.**

**That was awfully fast, for an injured girl. "Pitch. That's what happened," I was shocked by how dead and cold my voice sounded. **

**Somehow, the scene around me changed and faded. I was in a lusciously green park. And so were the other Guardians. I checked if Arye was still behind me. But as I turned, she vanished in a few grey wisps of smoke.**

**The kids in the park were in the middle of an easter egg hunt. An eggless easter egg hunt. "The Easter Bunny didn't come this year…" I heard someone sigh, "I knew he doesn't exist."**

**Bunny kept desperately trying to offer the kids hand-painted eggs, begging them to believe that he still existed. I could see the fear in his eyes. The fear of being forgotten, like me. The kid walked right through him. **

**Bunny froze, "They…they don't believe in me anymore."**

**The basket of hand-painted eggs dropped to the ground, its contents spilling out. The kids dejectedly returned home with empty baskets and empty hopes. Bunny's head gradually turned towards me, sneering with his Australian accent, "Oh look, it's Frostboy. Here to make an even greater mess, eh?"**

**Tooth- Toothiana, as some called her- looked to me with tears in her eyes. I saw her eyes shift to the golden box in my hand. "J-jack… What did you do? Where's Baby Tooth?" Her voice was flustered, panicked. **

**Bunny stepped forward, "You traitor. You will **_**never**_** be one of us. "**

**From behind Tooth and Bunny, I saw North look at me with pained eyes. **

**They… They distrusted me so easily. Could this…be what Pitch was talking about? I'm **_**not **_**one of them. They never really will accept me, will they? I should never have joined them in the first place. This was such a stupid idea. In my fury, the wind started forming vortexes around me. I leaped into the air, and let the wind carry me anywhere. **

**I touched down at a frozen, icy cliff, silver hair fluttering about, tooth box gripped tightly in one hand. The wind subsided, but my anger didn't. Putting all my hate into that one movement, I burst towards the edge of the cliff. When I was about to hurl the cursed box over the edge, my arm froze, and slowly retracted. But it wasn't intentional. Meaning, something forced my arm. My eyes widened at the sight of the narrow shadow coiled around my arm like a snake.**

**Pitch.**

**I spun around, staff raised in defence, prepared to strike. "…Ayre?"**

**I didn't know she followed me all along. The sun shone brightly, there at the cliff. My eyes widened. 'So **_**that's **_**how she was so fast.' I couldn't look away from the wide bat wings on her back. But more importantly, how did she control my own shadow? "It's not worth it. Treasure your memories," she whispered, closing my open palm around the box. **

"**Oh? What have we here? A little reunion? How nice." Pitch chuckled darkly.**

**I immediately hopped past Arye and dashed towards Pitch, the cool, icy air going against my movement. A few meters from Pitch, I sent a blast of ice at him from my staff. He merely laughed and dodged the attack easily. At that moment, a group of maybe thirty Nightmares emerged. Their only target: me. Although, I was mildly glad that Arye was left out of this, since none of this had anything to do with her, right?**

**The Nightmares surrounded me, blocking my view of Pitch. That coward. Immediately, I began taking out as many of them as I could. My staff sliced through the air swiftly, landing clean blows on the horses, or just freezing them. But the more Nightmares I defeated, the more seemed to appear. It felt as if there was an unlimited supply of them coming at me all at once, and my attacks had no impact on their great numbers.**

"**J-Jack! Look out!"**


	3. Chapter 3

"**J-jack! Look out!"**

**I spun around. A wave of black sand was headed straight for me. It invaded my vision. Closer. Closer. The Nightmares, they were merely a diversion. This was all a trap. I couldn't move. But what did it matter? I'd be too late anyway. A blurred figure stepped in front of me, and was bombarded with a head-on attack of sand. The figure fell to the ground.**

"**ARYE!"**

**The sand receded, and I could once again see Pitch. I shot him a murderous glare, to which he smirked in return. If looks could kill, well, Pitch would've long since exploded into a pile of sand and be blown away by the wind. He grinned at Arye's collapsed body on the ground, and tipped an imaginary hat, before disappearing in a huge cloud of sand. "Till later," his mocking voice spoke in my ear.**

**Each of the Nightmares flew off, following Pitch. I knelt beside Arye's collapsed body. It wasn't moving. Her wings were sprawled limply across the pathway. My heart pounded in my head, 'She can't be dead…' Her body was dusted with sand. Her eyes were closed, and a golden pendant hung loosely out of her ragged clothing. I reached for it…**

**My fingers halted a few centimeters from the pendant, as if stopped by a force field. I wonder what's so special about the pendant? It seemed simple enough: an oval locket made of gold. I wonder what it contains, even if it's none of my business. Arye groaned. Her face scrunched up in pain, before slowly relaxing. **

**I sighed in relief. She was only unconscious. But I knew she'd need medical attention. I'm not sure what effect Pitch's dark magic would have on her. I know she's not an ordinary human. Could she, perhaps, be a spirit, like me? I wonder what kind of spirit she was. I wonder if she was believed in. Could she have owned a globe of lights that represented those who believed in her, like North and Pitch? Or could she have been like me, alone? I wonder how she ended up with Pitch. Was she captured? But more importantly, I wonder **_**why **_**she was captured. The girl lying by my side held many secrets, I could tell. **

**As I pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ears, I wonder if I'd ever figure it all out.**

**I slowly lifted her into my arms, careful not to provoke any possible injuries, and carried her to one of the safest places I know. As I flew high up in the air, I hoped that I would still be welcome there. **

I knew Jack was carrying me. To where, I don't know. I narrowly opened one eye. Jack was soaring through the cool mountain air. My hair fluttered about my face messily, while Jack's hardly shifted. I continued to remain still. He probably believed I was still unconscious. And I would've been, if not for the pendant.

Although, I do wonder why Jack is doing all of this for me. I mean, we only met like, an hour or two ago. I find his kindness a bit suspicious. I mean, he's a _Guardian_. I'm not sure what's going to happen to me when we get to…wherever we're headed to. Pitch didn't tell me how they treat their "guests", only that they could not be trusted. He may be right about the latter.

The scenery blurred before me. I faintly wondered, 'Am I not heavy?' Jack seemed to be able to carry me with ease. I mean, I'm not exactly the lightest person on earth because of my large, furry wings. I felt bad, sure, since I was conscious all along. But I still kept this pretense, wondering what Pitch would do to me if Jack hadn't taken me with him.

Still, I was rather tired because of the many events today. Seeing as the blurry scenery wasn't going to change for a while, I closed my eyes, letting darkness wash over me.

_The room I was in was a pure white. Which is why Pitch stood out like a sore thumb. He chuckled at me, "Well played, Arye. Very well played. Enjoy this while you can. It may not last. I will come back for you. Be prepared."_

_The room grew one shade darker._

"Arye, you awake?"

I groggily rubbed my eyes and looked around. Jack and I were in a cave. Outside, the ground was paved with snow and snowflakes calmly drifted down from the cloudy sky. I shivered, not used to the cold. Jack shifted away slightly, "I'll just make things colder for ya. But now that we have the chance, we can do the intros. I'm kinda curious why you could control shadows, and have wings. And why you were locked up in Pitch's lair."

I sighed. It was about time, anyway. "I'm Arye Hallows… I'm the spirit of Halloween. So yeah… I can control a bit of shadows and stuff, I guess, though not as much as Pitch. My wings sorta came when I became a spirit. And well… I hate to say this, but I was actually tricked into joining Pitch's side. But whatever the reason, he was really determined to get me by his side, for some reason. Then he experimented on me, though I'm not sure why. That's how I got all these bruises."

Jack remained silent, looking to the ground. He got up, and was about to hug me, I think. But he hesitated, and his outstretched arm moved to ruffle my hair. He blushed slightly, looking away. "It's okay now. You have me here. I won't let you get hurt, kay?" he grinned, tilting his head a bit to the right.

I smiled back.

Jack went on to tell me about his own past. He was the spirit of winter, and the Guardian of fun. '…Guardian…' I tried not to grimace, even if he _did_ technically save my life. He told me about the Guardians.

North, aka Santa Claus, spoke with a Russian accent and wielded two swords. He was jolly and the Guardian of wonder. Toothiana, aka Tooth, a fairy covered in hummingbird feathers, collecting teeth and guarding memories. Sandman, aka Sandy, appears to be made of golden sand and guards dreams. He doesn't speak for fear of waking people up. Lastly, E. Aster Bunnymund, or Bunny. Basically, he's an extremely oversized bunny that wields boomerangs, speaks with an Australian accent and guards hope.

"…and then I found you in Pitch's lair. We're now at the North Pole. I think this'll be the best place to get you er, medical help, or see if you need it. You know, cause you got hit by the black sand. You know the rest," he finished, looking rather proud of himself.

I giggled slightly at his expression. Not able to help myself, I stretched a hand out and gently poked his cheek. He spun around, blinking in surprise. I tried to muffle my amusement, but later gave up and started drowning in fits of laughter. Jack grinned devilishly, "So you find this funny, hm? Well, payback time."

He pounced on me, jabbing my sides swiftly. And unfortunately, I am extremely ticklish.

It was a while before our massive tickle-to-the-death ended. Both of us were panting heavily and lying on the ground, but grinning like a bunch of idiots. I swear, I've never had so much fun in all of my ever gloomy and tragic lifetime. Jack stood up and dusted his clothes, before helping me up. "Heh, well we better get going," he said, before heading out the cave.

"Woah." The scenery was beautiful at the North Pole. The ground was covered with pure, white snow. Snowflakes dotted the calm blue sky. The wind picked up around me, forming a blizzard around me. Jack chuckled, "I take it that you like the snow?"

I grinned, sticking my tongue out to catch a falling snowflake. I never did such things in my previous life. I heard people talk about it though. I looked up into the distance. A huge house-ish building stood grandly in my view. It looked like a cross between a mansion, and a pretty damn big factory. Jack laughed, probably from the look of wonder on my face.

"C'mon, let's go."

He grabbed my hand, running towards the house. I was pulled along, blushing madly. I felt weird…but not in a bad way… I hope.

'Well it's normal to be embarrassed right?' I justified, 'I mean he's a guy and I uh just met him and uh… I mean it's not like I've ever… Oh God, this is so awkward. What am I even thinking?!'

Jack slowed his pace, and we halted at the door of the mansion. His cheerful expression faded. I looked to him, worried. "I'm not sure if I'm still welcome but… Well it's worth a shot, I guess," he answered my unasked question.

Jack took a deep breath, releasing my hand, and knocked on the door.

The door immediately swung open. As we stepped in, four surprised faces turned to stare at us. I mentally matched their names to their appearances. North, Bunnymund, Sandman, Tooth. All of them were present. All of the Guardians were here. "Ya traitor. What're ya doing 'ere?" Bunnymund spat out, glaring at us, "Brought ye girlfriend, eh? So _that's _what ye were doin' when we needed ya."

I glared back, "Firstly, I'm not his girlfriend. Second, _Pitch _tricked him. It wasn't his fault. Shouldn't it be Pitch you're mad at? And back to the girlfriend thing. Jack found me in Pitch's lair, locked in a _cage_. He probably saved me from more sadistic experiments Pitch secretly likes to do. Jack didn't do anything wrong, and he didn't betray you, okay?"

Tooth sighed, and flew over, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Jack."

Slowly, each Guardian advanced nervously, apologizing to Jack. Sandman didn't speak though. He just formed some sand above his head that I _think _was an apology. Bunnymund muttered something to himself. Silence filled the room, and I imagined tumbleweed awkwardly rolling across the floor. "Anyways," a deep voice broke the silence, "How's about you introduce yerself?"

Jack started, "She's-"

"Sidhe (Shee-yeh). I'm the spirit of Halloween," I interrupted.

Jack looked at me incredulously. I stepped on his foot, muttering, "Later."

"I brought her here cause she got hit by Pitch's sand. I'm surprised she's still alive, though. I'm not sure if she's hurt internally or anything. So that's why we're here," Jack continued, probably getting the message.

"I see," North's Russian accent was obvious in his speech, "Well we better show Sidhe a room she can sleep in for now. She must be tired. We can ask her questions tomorrow."

He turned to me, looking for signs of approval.

I nodded, and let North direct me to a pleasant-looking oak door several stories up. Jack and the other Guardians remained in the main lobby. He gave me a warm smile and opened the door for me, before walking off. I wonder why he accepted me so quickly, though. I shrugged, pushing the though out of my mind. The Guardians _did_ seem friendly. I closed the door and turned to inspect the room.

At that moment, Pitch appeared before me.


End file.
